Apollo

Basic Information

Name: Apollo
AKA: The Specter
Current Age: 44 (Chapter 1: 37)
Type: Dragon-Blooded Exalt
Player: NPC
Aspect: Air
Concept: Member of the Hallowed Order of the Grass Spiders
Motivation: Become the greatest thief that no one has ever heard of.
Political Affiliation: The Hallowed Order of the Grass Spiders
Anima: (Almost never seen, most Grass Spider's haven't seen his totemic anima.) Apollo's essence manifests itself in gray and white hues that radiate from his body at lower levels trailing into a flowing cape and hood when it becomes a full aura. When his anima turns totemic the white and gray essence around his body scales back and begins to form a ghost army surrounding himself as well as the general area he is occupying. The ghost army becomes increasingly less transparent until it appears he really is surrounded by a maddening horde of the undead.
Likes: Invisibility, Theft, Heists, Eavesdropping, Smoking, Philosophy.
Dislikes: Physical Combat, Sunlight, Large Animals, Being in the Spotlight.

Background

Apollo is the Grass Spider's foremost expert in stealth and thievery, most notably in high end heists and extreme spy missions. Apollo works mostly on missions that involve stealth and thievery, preferring to avoid missions involving direct combat. Considering the number of missions younger members of the organization are typically involved in, Apollo proudly boasts the lowest kill percentage of any member of the organization.

Apollo's love of thievery stems from his days as a child, Apollo was born on the streets of The Imperial Capital as an unclaimed orphan and was forced to fend for himself. In his battle to survive in the forgotten underbelly of Creation's capital Apollo became a low level pick pocket, thriving off the heavy change purses of the Princes of Creation. However, it was only a matter of time before he stole from the wrong person, even despite is considerable skill a particularly astute Dragon-Blood caught him. Luckily for Apollo he was not given a terribly harsh punishment and instead of losing his hand, or even his life, he was sent off the Blessed Isle to a prison in the coast of the south.

Apollo's life in prison is thought to have originated his proficiency in stealth as well as his dislike of both sunlight and physical violence. But for all the negatives of being a young child in the harsh life of prison it taught him many life lessons that would contribute to his skill as a member of The Grass Spiders. Apollo likely would have spent his entire life buried away, forgotten about in that prison if one event hadn't changed his life entirely. As he was coming into his own in the prison during a prison riot, that he claims he had nothing to do with, he suddenly exalted while trying to discretely escape. The exaltation was a curse and a blessing, the show of exaltation ruined his attempts to escape, but Dragon-Bloods do not stay imprisoned for long.

Shortly after being confined during the prison riot Apollo was contacted by The All Seeing Eye while being kept in a special part of the prison that could contain his considerable power. The All Seeing Eye worked out a deal with Apollo that would give him his freedom in exchange for a short period of service where Apollo would work as an undercover in the prison for them. The Eye was particularly interested in the deals of a gang lord who was already held within the prison, however he seemed to still be working as the boss of his gang despite their best efforts to stop communication. Of course they could have had him killed, but that sort of reaction tends to bring an equally violent reaction from the leaderless gang. Apollo would help put a stop to the gang lord's operation in exchange for freedom. The process took Apollo almost a year to complete, he had very little understanding of his newfound powers and was limited in the ability to use them to his advantage. Infiltrating the gang proved difficult, instead Apollo did what he did best and spied on the leader and his followers from a hidden distance. The method required great patience, however it paid off in the end and Apollo was able to deliver on his end of the bargain.

Convinced that the prison could not hold the skilled dragon-blooded spy and unsure if they wanted to dispose of such a potentially useful contact The Eye decided to honor their end of the contract and released Apollo with a standing offer to work for them in the future. Apollo then found himself in the bustling southern metropolis of Chiaroscuro with no money or contacts, but a newfound wealth of ability to acquire whatever resources he desired. Suddenly he was one of the Prince's that he had spent most of his life resenting and stealing from, he fell back into his old habits of pick pocketing and minor theft, but he found the thrill and excitement lacking and the wealth it provided was hardly worthwhile. Though he was without direction, a man of such skill does not easily go unnoticed in city such as Chiaroscuro, soon enough The Guild took notice and instead of attempting to stop him, they recruited him.

Working for The Guild proved to be exactly what Apollo enjoyed, he was able to stay completely out of politics and the forefront of what was going on and instead simply enjoy the brilliance of his own work. The Guild had long been victims of countless thefts and heists, they were attempting to strike back by hiring the very thieves that had once stolen from them. Apollo was almost surely the most talented of these counter-thieves and specialized not only in preventing theft from occurring but at stealing back the major targets of heists. It was only a matter of time before his counter-thievery came into contact with The Grass Spiders.

Apollo pulled of the second greatest heist of his career as a counter to an assassination attempt by The Grass Spiders. Apollo vigorously refuses to tell the story of his greatest heist, claiming it would be ruined if anyone knew. The Grass Spiders were tasked with a mission to infiltrate and kill a prominent Guildsmen in his sleep, making it appear to be a death by natural causes. The Guild learned of the hit before the Grass Spider's got there, betrayed by the organization that hired them, so The Guild spared no expense in countering the assassination, Apollo was on the job.

Apollo constructed one of the most elaborate heists ever constructed, putting a test to the almost infinite resources the Guild had provided him to save the man's life. Neither he, nor the Grass Spiders ever learned what made this particular Guildsmen of such importance. Apollo never cared about such things, it's part of what made him such a good recruit despite his lack of assassination experience. The Grass Spiders infiltrated the targets mansion in the busy government district of Nexus, in position to finish the mission according to plan the mark suddenly disappeared from his bed before the poison of choice could be used. What appeared to be a simple heist of the sleeping man was actually far more complicated, and the exact opposite of appearances. When the Grass Spiders retreated from the mansion of the target they found that the home they had infiltrated was in a totally different location. Even when this seemed explainable, Bran Weylin pointed out that they and the entire mansion with all it's inhabitants (except the target) had been transported into The Underworld.

Any other circle of The Grass Spider's would have been lost in the vastness of The Underworld, but thankfully for the Red Hoods, Bran Weylin was with them and was able to guide the circle out of the depths of The Underworld. Perplexed The Red Hoods contacted The Harvestman and were surprised to find that two of the senior members had already arrived in Nexus, they had learned a little too late that The Grass Spider's had been betrayed. Their original target as well as the client who hired them for the job, and subsequently betrayed them, were both found dead in the well guarded safe house the target had been stashed in by The Guild. Naturally the Guild was furious and Apollo knew better than to show his face there again, he was on the run though he was sure his heist had succeeded. Indeed it had, but the net of The Grass Spider's was inescapable and their target always met the end they deserved.

When Apollo made his escape from Nexus, Rizuka was waiting for him. Apollo was nearly as bewildered that he was found as he was about his heist, Rizuka explained what he needed to know in exchange for the information she was seeking as well. The client who had betrayed them had already been dealt with, but The Grass Spider's had to be sure that was as far as it went. Luckily for Apollo it was, not considered to be a part of the betrayal Apollo was spared. Furthermore, Rizuka gave him an unexpected offer to join the legendary assassins guild. Apollo was hesitant at first, he had never considered himself an assassin, but Rizuka explained to him The Grass Spiders were far more than mere assassins. Sharing some of her own beliefs assured him enough that he excepted, his knack for grand schemes has certainly been appreciated in his time as a Grass Spider.

Apollo's niche in The Grass Spiders mostly revolves around his tremendous stealth and spying abilities, by preference and by necessity as he is a relatively unskilled combatant for a member of his tenure. A fact that Valen almost never lets him forget, but something Apollo has shown little desire to change. Apollo also stems from a bloodline that allows him to learn the arts of necromancy, his inherent skill with this was on display during his recruitment but Bran has worked with him to extensively expand his knowledge of necromancy. Apollo also processes one of the most coveted artifacts among all the Grass Spiders, a bandanna of moonsilver thread with a single strand of fate woven into it. When attuned to the artifact it completely suppresses the anima of the user, allowing the user to spend peripheral essence without risk of showing his anima. The disadvantage of this is that it disables the anima abilities of the user, a price that Apollo is more than willing to pay for the benefit. Apollo never goes without his most trusted possession and is constantly paranoid about it being stolen, probably a reflection of the fact that he stole it himself and constantly steals items others consider valuable. His kleptomania knows almost no bounds, though he tries not to steal excessively from other Grass Spiders, but considers almost all material possessions to be trivial and of little value. This enforces the belief that his lust for stealing is derived from the act of theft rather than the desire to have other's belongings, except of course in the case of his trusty bandanna.

What He's Been Up To

The Veil War

Apollo was always more of a spy than an assassin, and he always said he would rather steal secrets than possessions. In that sense at least, no member of The Grass Spiders was better suited for The Veil War, an entire war fought in the shadows with secrets and whispers rather than direct physical combat. Apollo has little time for anything else these days, his martial arts training has been woefully neglected and even his exploration into necromancy with Bran is mostly on hold. There simply was not enough time for it all. Apollo is rarely seen at The Range Homes these days, then again he Specter of The Grass Spiders was always a rare sight, that was the point. Most members find that he turns up here or there, typically initiating contact out of nowhere to provide a critical piece of intelligence, or to make a minor inquiry regarding an associate or safe house. As a whole The Order doesn't often know where he is or what he is up to, but no one questions The Fiends on how they chose to use a Made Member, at least not publicly. Anton, who is most responsible for The Order's intelligence network, is the only member who still has regular, planned meetings with Apollo. Most such meetings do not take place at The Range Homes, as both members are too busy grooming The Order's network to return home. It is possible that The Veil War now takes up significantly more of his time than was ever intended for a Made Member, but that ship has sailed and The Three Fiends are quite pleased with his work. The Minstrels of Eden have always been an enigmatic group of loners, with the exception of Whitaker, and the circle remains tightly oath-bonded as a quirky collection of companions. The circle is rarely all together, but each member shows a clear affinity for the other members of the circle, and Apollo is no exception.